Topline

President Donald Trump admitted “some contractor error” occurred when renovating the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, an admission that comes as he has for months blamed damage on alleged vandals.

Key Facts

In a Sunday evening post, Trump doubled down on his claims that ex-Olympian David Hearn vandalized the Reflecting Pool by “violently” tugging at the liner, citing a National Park Service employee who allegedly saw the incident.

Trump claimed there is “substantial other damage to the Reflecting Pool,” but admitted there is “no video or proof, other than the damage, itself.”

Last week, Trump told reporters in the Oval Office the administration has “photographs or tapes, like moving cameras, where people are on the side cutting it with a box knife,” and the U.S. Park Police posted a video in June of what appears to be an individual reaching into the pool.

Trump admitted there was “some contractor error done by rushing the job for a July 4th opening,” but claimed the contractor error covered “a very small area of this massive Pool, and was relatively inconsequential.”

Trump has repeatedly criticized U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro after her office dropped vandalism charges against Hearn and other individuals who were accused of damaging the Reflecting Pool, blaming the damage on a “rushed and botched installation” by the contractor in court filings.

what to watch for

Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., the ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, told The New Republic that Democrats on the committee will launch an investigation into the decision to charge Hearn and other individuals this week. “Judiciary Democrats will investigate who lied, who buried the evidence, and who decided to threaten an American citizen with prison simply to protect Trump’s wounded feelings and continuing corruption,” Raskin told The New Republic, saying he will demand records from the Justice Department and Interior Department relating to the charging decisions.

Why Is Trump Sparring With Jeanine Pirro?

Pirro has been the subject of Trump’s ire over the past week, as the president alleged she “choked” and “made a mistake” after her office chose to drop the Reflecting Pool vandalism charges. He urged her on Friday to “re-visit her hastily made decision” to drop the charges. Trump considered firing Pirro last week, two unnamed sources familiar with his thinking told CNN, though Pirro remains in her role as of Monday. In dropping the charges, Pirro’s office accused the Interior Department of only providing information that suggested the pool damage was due to a contractor error after her office had already charged Hearn. Had the Interior Department been “forthcoming with the information clearly in its possession, the government would not have sought a grand jury indictment,” the filing says.

key background

Trump has consistently blamed vandals for the botched renovation of the Reflecting Pool, which has been plagued by a peeling liner and resurfacing algae. Trump has made varying claims about the alleged damage done to the pool, once claiming an apparent gash in the liner was 300 yards (or 900 feet), though pictures of the drained pool did not appear to support his claims. A Washington Post analysis of the pool, based on satellite imagery and conversations with experts, found the lining appears to be peeling in about seven places, indicating apparent problems with its installation. The Reflecting Pool upgrades have reportedly ballooned in cost from under $2 million to about $16 million, and a group of Senate Democrats said in June they would probe “serious questions” they have about “project management, contracting practices, quality control, and fiscal responsibility.”